The invention relates to a conveying means for objects, such as are in particular formed by superimposed layers, e.g. paper stacks and the like.
Such stacks, etc. are to be continuously movable over a long conveying section or the latter is to be so interrupted or shortened that the particular stack does not move over the entire conveying section and is instead discharged therefrom beforehand. For this purpose appropriately a conveyor comprising two or more conveying portions is provided and said two portions are movable transversely against one another or parallel to the conveying plane or conveying direction. Both conveying portions can also have a conveying action in the retracted position or form a through, but shortened conveyor and has a common conveying direction instead of conveying directions transverse to one another. In the case of paper stacks, namely so-called reams of several hundreds to thousand sheet layers such stacks are to be discharged which have been subject to damage, constitute waste for some other reason or due to a malfunction in the conveying direction are not to be conveyed further following the discharge point.
This can e.g. be achieved in that a truck with conveying runners, such as belts, driving the stacks only by friction gripping engagement, forms the movable conveying portion, which has at its extendable or front end a reversing means for the conveying runner or runners. If the said portion is extended, then the conveying runners pass over most of the extended section without support on the back thereof, so that they are flexibly or elastically resiliently curved towards said back under the contact pressure of the particular stack. In the case of conveyor belts an attempt can admittedly be made to counteract this in that said belts are kept taut with tension force in their longitudinal direction or are closely juxtaposed in large numbers and with a small intermediate spacing with respect to their width, but this leads-to increased costs and increased fault proneness and difficult operation of the conveyor.